Pelletized fuel produced from organic waste, such as wood or garbage, is desirable for both industrial and household heating purposes because of its ability to be used with equipment that automatically handles and feeds the pellets to a chamber within which they are burned. Their small size, uniform diameter, and density permit automatic control of the burning process to a degree not practical in connection with the burning or incineration of raw waste materials.
Most fuel pellets today are produced by use of pelletizing equipment designed for pelletizing agriculatural feed. The use of such equipment requires that the waste material be reduced in size to particles capable of entering the pelletizing chambers within which they are compressed. Examples of U.S. patents dislosing such pelletizing processes are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,908,689; 4,234,561; 4,308,033 and 4,015,951. Pretreating of materials for pelletizing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,398,917 and in 4,561,860.
A very early disclosure of a compressed fuel briquette for burning purposes is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 959,870, which was patented May 31, 1910.
The present disclosure relates to production of pellets without the necessity of reducing the size of the incoming waste materials or modifying their moisture content. It is designed for commercial production of pellets at high volumes by continuously feeding waste material between reciprocating punches and stationary dies within which the material is compressed to a small cylindrical configuration.